Hindi grammar · Elementary (A2)
The past habitual: करता था (used to)
Talk about past habits and describe how things used to be with करता था, करती थी, and the past of “to be”.
Forming the past habitual
Take the present habitual (, kartaa hoon) and replace / / / (hoon / ho / hai / hain) with the past of “to be”: (thaa), (thee), (the) or (theen). Both parts agree with the subject: (vah kaam kartaa thaa), he used to work; (vah kaam kartee thee), she used to work.
Like all habitual and continuous forms, the past habitual never takes (ne), even with an object.
| Subject | Masculine | Feminine |
|---|---|---|
| , , , (main, too, yah, vah) | (jaataa thaa) | (jaatee thee) |
| , , , (tum, aap, ham, ve) | (jaate the) | (jaatee theen) |
- मैं जयपुर में रहता था।Main Jaipur men rahtaa thaa.I used to live in Jaipur. (man speaking)
- वह हर दिन बस से जाती थी।Vah har din bas se jaatee thee.She used to go by bus every day.
Used to, or did once?
Use the past habitual for things that happened regularly or went on for a while: habits, routines, where you lived or worked. English often uses “used to” or just the simple past: (main das ghante kaam kartaa thaa), I worked ten hours a day.
For one single event, use the simple past instead: (kal main bas se gayaa), yesterday I went by bus. In the negative, (thaa) is usually kept: (main meethaa naheen khaataa thaa), I didn't use to eat sweets.
- बचपन में हम हर रविवार क्रिकेट खेलते थे।Bachpan men ham har ravivaar kriket khelte the.As children we used to play cricket every Sunday.
- पिछले रविवार हमने क्रिकेट खेला।Pichhle ravivaar hamne kriket khelaa.Last Sunday we played cricket.
- मेरे दादा जी चाय नहीं पीते थे।Mere daadaa jee chaay naheen peete the.My grandfather didn't drink tea.
Describing the past with था
To say how someone or something was, use , , , (thaa, thee, the, theen) on their own: (paanee bahut thandaa thaa), the water was very cold. With (pasand) and (achchhaa lagnaa), the verb agrees with the thing that is liked: (mujhe vah naukaree pasand naheen thee), I didn't like that job.
For respected people, use the plural: (daadee jee bahut mazedaar theen), Grandma was great fun.
- बचपन में मैं बहुत शांत थी।Bachpan men main bahut shaant thee.I was very quiet as a child. (woman speaking)
- मुझे वह शहर बहुत अच्छा लगता था।Mujhe vah shahar bahut achchhaa lagtaa thaa.I really liked that city.
- उस दिन बहुत गर्मी थी।Us din bahut garmee thee.It was very hot that day.